Google Bomb the AVN

So, the Australian Vaccination Network has had their arse handed to them. The media no longer seems to call on them for "balance" and they're regularly being taken to task on the radio. Since the HCCC reached their conclusion and Ken McLeod released it to the world I can only think of one interview where Meryl Dorey was not taken to task. It does indeed feel like the Australian Vaccination Network is finally circling the drain.

Dorey remains adamant that the HCCC has no jurisdiction over the AVN but given what the stated goal of the AVN I can't see how they can possibly win that argument. They may still be seeking legal advice but it'll just be throwing good money after bad. If some lawyer lines their pockets from this and the AVN go bankrupt due to legal fees, I'm oddly okay with that.

The Government is not "pro-vaccination"

I would like to address one point that no one else seems to have addressed and I think would be the perfect counter to something Meryl constantly claims.

Meryl is always saying that the government is pro-vaccine. I would like to posit that this is not the case. They may promote vaccines, but it's not because they're pro-vaccine. It's more of a side effect of the actual policy. Surely the government is pro-evidence based medicine? If, tomorrow, it was found that vaccines are actually much worse than what they claim to prevent surely they would switch their position and withdraw them from the recommended list of "good things you should do". The fact is that the evidence for vaccination being better than the alternative is what puts the government into that position.

I'd like to encourage people to get that message out there. If enough people see it hopefully someone interviewing Meryl will recall this and counter with it.

Google-bombing

Google bombing is the act of linking a set of words to a url and through sheer weight of numbers having that url appear higher up the list of search results than the target of the attack.

I would like to recommend that from this day forward, any mention of the Australian Vaccination Network be linked to the public announcement from the HCCC. The goal is to get the public announcement right up there with the AVN in the search results.

Further reading:

• The AVN shoots themselves in the foot- @DrRachie
• Anti-Vaccine Group A Threat – StopAVN Hits The Sydney Morning Herald- @podblack
• HCCC issues a public warning against the AVN - @youngausskeptic
• AVN a risk to public health and safety – HCCC warning - @DrRachie
• PUBLIC WARNING ABOUT THE AUSTRALIAN VACCINATION NETWORK (AVN) - @DrunkenMadMan
• HCCC Reports On AVN’s Website Health Warning FAIL (Help Support Cosmos Magazine And StopAVN!) - @podblack
• Meryl gives me a shout out on Howard Sattler 6PR! - @DrRachie

Further listening:

2UE - Ken McLeod - 2010-07-27

2UE - Toni McCaffery - 2010-07-27

6PR - Meryl Dorey - 19-07-2010

This is the one that seemed to pander to Meryl's position, although I noticed the host did say at least once that he may not agree with her views.